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History WWII

Terms in this set (75)

Tojo style of government
-militarism; attacked China for resources with strong military
- prepared nation for war
-nationalism; wanted his country to industrialize and become great but needed recourses from China - new asia, new industry, best country, strong military
-1930s worldwide depression weakened civilian rule causing Japan to move towards militarism
-started to increase power/play bigger role in politics
-Japan's growing militarism mixed with nationalism
-Japanese turned from Western Influences and embraced culture
-Radical nationalists wanted to acquire territory and raw materials with military action
Stalin style of government
-communism; raised to power of soviet Union (communist party) when Lenin died
- government controls all aspects of a community
-controlled farming and rebels (sent to labor camp)
-totalitarian; dictatorship that everyone must agree with or else
- goals for russia; raise agricultural production & modernize industry bc thought exports of food would bring money to industry for growth, it worked by 1930s
- nationalist
- 5 year plan - 1928; took private land from farmers and forced them to move onto large collective farms
- had secret soviet police that killed large amounts of party leaders, military officers, industrial managers and others to keep them in power; the Great Purge
Hitler style of government
- socialist: ran aspects of country (25 point program) but was not communist (did not think Jews were equal as everyone else)
-fascism; believed Aryans (German people) were the physically and mentally the best people and should be in control of everything
-leader of Nazi party; believed in that strongly
-nationalist- swooped in when German economy was weak
-totalitarian government; dictatorship that everyone in country must be subservient with
- anti-semitism: passed laws and had concentration camps for Jews and "undesirables"
- militarism- built up government
-blackshirts
Mussolini style of government
strong socialist; wanted the government to have control over production, distribution, and exchange; between capitalism and communism
fascist; wanted Italy to be the best and center of the nation, wanted to be like Ancient Rome
1925 became dictator
give Italians false hope- they will do whatever you want
cut people's hands off
use fear to intimidate rebels; go into people's homes and hold wife's and children's hostage
take away freedom
Tojo background
-followed father's footsteps by getting involved in military
- father was Japanese Army infantry lieutenant
-graduated from Imperial Military Academy and Military Staff College
-served as a military attache for Japan in Germany
- attache: a person on the staff of an ambassador
-married Katsuko Ito married in 1909
-responsible for Pearl Harbor
-1937 became chief of staff of Kwantung Army
-1940 appointed minister of war and in the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumimaro
-october 18th, 1941 became 40th prime minister of Japan
-sentenced to death for war crimes by International Tribunal of the far East
Stalin background
- grew up poor
- wanted to be great and well-known as a child
-father was an alcoholic
- abused and left Stalin and his mother when young
-left arm shorter than right (blood poisoning)
-1906, Stalin married Ekaterina Svanidze (died at 22, 1907)
- son was eventually in Nazi captivity (jail)
-Stalin married 2nd wife in 1918, Nadezhda Alliluyeva (17 years old) who committed suicide in 1932 (age 31)
-never completed education
-in 1899 he joined the Social Democrats (Russia's Marxist political party)
- organized worker protests
- from 1902 to 1913 he was exiled and arrested 6 times
- died from cerebral hemorrhage
Hitler background
-father was always mad at him for poor performance in school
-ran away from home in 1907 as a teenager to become an artist
-His mother encouraged his artistic career
-hated Jews bc his mom died and thought a Jewish doctor poisoned her (1907)
- public speaker
-Wrote book called Mein Kampf (my struggle) 1924 when in jail
-killed himself with his wife in bunker by taking cyanide pill and shooting himself (1945)
Mussolini background
-influenced by father's political beliefs
- father wasted money on his mistress not Mussolini
- public speaker
- wrote Romance novels
- ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943
- became leader of the Italian Social Republic in 1943.
- founded fascism
- fought in Italian Army in 1915
- he and his mistress were both shot on April 27th, 1945
WWII basics
When: 1939- 1945
US got involved in 1941-
Where: European THeater, Pacific theater, African theater.
Who: Allied--- U.s. U.K. Soviet Union (Italy surrendered and joined allies in 1943)
vs.
Axis--- Germany, Italy(switched to allies in 1943), Japan
Why: Treaty of Versailles, Washington Conference, Neutrality Act, Nanking Massacre, Nazi Party 25 points, munich agreement, expansionism
How: total war, Blitzkrieg
What: Dictator, Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, Battle of Britain, Atomic Bomb Stalingrad, Battle of the Bulge
Treaty of Versaille
- war guilt clause Article 231 blamed Germany for the war and made them pay 33$ billion dollars in reparations
- from WW1
- June 28, 1919
- caused Germany's economy to be weak
- Hitler swooped in with nationalism
- angry with Allied powers; put them on opposite sides through war
Washington Conference november 1921 to february 1922
- world's largest naval powers gathered to figure out a way to relieve tension in East Asia
- made 3 treaties; helped disarm and control weaponry, made people agree to current land, and respect China's territory
- Russia and Germany were not at meeting
- way to find peace
- Made Japan angry they could not expand to China bc they are a little island
Neutrality Act of 1935, 1937, 1939
-limited US government's ability to help Britain and France against Nazi Germany
1935: prohibited export of arms, ammunition, and implements of war
1937: outlawed the arms trade with Spain and America transporting arms on merchant ships
- Roosevelt created cash-carry system; country would come and pick up goods for war- Britain brought goods to help china
- made Japan angry
1939: lifted arms trade ban and put other countries under "cash and carry" system
- kept US out of the war for a little bit
The Nanking Massacre of 1937
- The Japanese invaded Nanking, China killing about 300,000 people and raping between 20,000 and 80,000 women
- put China and Japan on opposite sides of the war
- made people want to stop Japan because they were brutal
Nazi Party Program 1920 (25 point program)
- party program of the Nationalist Socialist German Workers' party
- socialist program only for Germans and specifically excluded non-Germans and Jews from having rights
- Nazi party stood for 25 things
ex: demanded land and territory, no one else could come into the country- people of Aryan race are superior
- nationalism in Germany grew through this
- created enemies
- wanted Germans to be the best; imperialized which started war
Munich Agreement 1938
-Agreement letting German take over Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia
- Allies appeased him bc they thought it would make peace
-later he took more Czechoslovakia made Allies angry
- they stated if Germany attacked anymore smaller countries Allies would declare war
- provoked Germans and Allies
1935-1936 Germany remilitarizes
- went against treaty of versailles
- league of nations refused to make penalties
1935 Italy invades Ethiopia
- Ethiopia requested league of nations to place economic sanctions on Italy
- very mild sanctions bc members were not very devoted
- league asked US to cut off oil trade with Italy
- neutrality
1937 Japanese troops massacre civilians in Nanjing
- Roosevelt spoke to "peace-loving nations" about ending the "epidemic of world lawlessness."
- wanted to quarantine aggressor nations
- Japan kept expanding
- League of Nations failed to respond
1938 German Anschluss (union) with Austria
- Hitler crossed Austria's borders with no troubles bc Austrian Nazi Party member became chancellor of Austria
- Britain and France wanted to appease Hitler
- allowed him to expand because they wanted peace
1939 Germany invades Czechoslovakia
- Hitler broke munich pact
- caused Britain and France to declare that if Germany attacked more small states they would declare a war
1939 Germany attacks Poland
- Two days after the German Army marched into Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany
- start of WWII
- France and Britain did not have any army because of Washington Conference
1940 Germany invades Low Countries and France
- main defense was on Maginot line, armed fortresses on Germany's border
- stalemate on western front
- with lightning tactics suddenly Germany took over 3 countries in 18 days
- no one was ready on allied side
-Britain sent over boats over English Channel and saved around 338,000 men
- Mussolini declared war on Britain and France (became Axis powers)
- France surrendered on June 22, 1940
1940 Germany attacks Britain (Battle of Britain)
- Winston Churchill was determined to defend Britain
- Germans flew raids through summer of 1940
- British set up fighter pilots
-Royal Air Force (RAF)
-downed more than 600 German aircrafts at cost of 260 British planes
- September 1940, Britain first bombed Berlin
- Germans started to attack British cities
- October battle slowed down; Britain had defended their home
1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
- before attack U.S. sent loans to china, froze Japanese assets in American banks, blocked export of vital resources to Japan (oil)
- after attack next day Roosevelt asked to declare war on Japan
- "Our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger..."
- 3 days later Germany and Italy declared war on United states
The economy needed to be converted from consumer production to military production.
- War Production Board; helped manage the switch between consumer industries to military production. - january 1942
- For example a soft drink company might switch it's tools and start to train the workers to pack artillery shells with explosives
-steel is becoming steel for war weapons. National War Labor Board- 1942 controlled the jobs, workers rights, and how much everyone was payed
The government needed large amounts of money to fight the war
-gov got money 45% from taxes
- Revenue Act of 1942 increased individual tax rates and increased corporate income tax rates
-Congress made gov immediately take money out of the employers check
- gov borrowed money from banks and asks for saving funds
Inflation (increase in price) and overproduction (too much supply not enough demand) threatened the economy
-gov created control office that controlled prices of everything; switched from capitalist to almost communist
- Certain consumer industry prices had a limit, rationing basic consumer goods, recycled goods, had to carpool, and created victory gardens- garden in a backyard to save manufacturing, money, packaging, and gas.
Rosie the Riveter
cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many produced munitions and war supplies
American GIs- American military soldiers, nearly 6 million enlisted after Pearl Harbor
Hardships
-fear because soldiers knew they could die anytime
-home sick and lonely during war
-often physically, emotionally and mentally scarred when coming home
Opportunities
-show patriotism for fighting for country
-government provided food supplies
-GI soap, socks, helmet, and rifle
-soldiers develop strong bonds
-came home with new sense of pride
Japanese Americans- around 150,000 Japanese Americans living in Hawaiian Islands during attack on Pearl Harbor
Hardships
-Roosevelt signed proclamations stating that "enemy aliens" (including Japanese) had to carry identification cards, turn in firearms, cameras, and shortwave radios because they thought they would send info to enemy
needed a travel permit to go more than 5 miles from house
- accused of spying or being loyal to Japan over U.S.
-Executive Order 9066- military zones excluded current residents who were a threat- march 1942 mass evacuated Japanese
-"move out and stay out"
-More than 100,000 Japanese "enemy aliens" and Japanese Americans were forced to evacuate
sent to internment camps
-desert far away from any town
- barbed wires and machine guns surrounding
Opportunities
- 80,000 native born in America but are Japanese they had constitutional rights as all American citizens had
- Japanese American men fought in the 442nd Division which won more medals than any other unit of its size in American history
American women
Hardships
- Women faced hostility on the job, especially in male dominated industries
-Women's pay did not increase as much as men's pay
Opportunities
-Men left their jobs to work in the armed forces, allowing more jobs for women (18 million took jobs outside of home)
-Women's Army Corps - a women's unit of the U.S. Army established in 1942
-Women in the WAC (womens army corps) became members of the military - US. Navy and the coast guard also established their own branches for women in 1942
African Americans
Hardships
-even in war, the african americans and white people were still segregated
-the phrase "separate but equal" meant that african americans and white people were still separated
-white people didn't want african americans to work for them, which made finding jobs harder.
-faced white backlash
Opportunities
-African Americans were able to fight for their country in war
-allowed to serve in the Army, Navy, Army Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard
-escaped Jim Crow Laws
-CORE helped fight for African American rights and gave them more opportunities
Jewish Americans
Hardships
-Many of the Jewish Americans had fled from Europe because of the Nazi discrimination and Holocaust
- Jewish GIs were often set apart from the other soldiers because of anti-semitism (hostility to or prejudice against Jews)
Opportunities
-Although some soldiers were shown prejudice, others were accepted and respected during the war
-Many Jewish Americans had the opportunity to urge the US government to send food and other supplies to the people suffering in Europe and alert them of the situation in Europe
Mexican Americans
Hardships
-discriminated by all americans one mexican-american said, "why fight for america, when you aren't treated like an American?"
-Zoot Suit Riots (1943)- when mobs of sailors and marines roaming the barrios and just attacking young Mexican-American civilians (pachucos) who wore zoot suits (outfit)
Opportunities
-enlisted to go to war (they got jobs)
-During the war a Mexican-American said at the end of the war, (Mexican-Americans) will be viewed differently because everyone shared the same problems
agressions that made WW2 inevitable- unstoppable
Treaty of Versailles, Washington Conference, Neutrality Act, Nanking Massacre, Nazi Party 25 points, munich agreement - these agreements limited countries in many ways
Events occurring in African Theater
Nazis wanted to to take over North Africa to get oil by pushing Britain out of Egypt
- 1941 joined up with Italy's army division located in North Africa (Marshal Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps)
- June 1942 Rommel took over region and driven into Egypt
Events occurring in European Theater
Poland
- Warsaw Ghetto in Poland; Jews from all over Europe were forced into overcrowded small cities
-died from starvation and disease
-created "final solution" and in early 1942 the Nazis build the first six death camps in Poland
- gas chambers which sealed groups of Jews and other "undesirables" and imprisoned them to death
- able workers had to work in factories
Soviet Union
- Germans used blitzkrieg tactics to invade Soviet border
Nazis wanted oil so marched towards their oil-rich Caucasus region
-"final solution"
started to slaughter Jews had killing squads which killed thousands of Soviet Jews at a time - 1941
Events occurring in Pacific Theater
Philippines
- Bataan Death March
Tokyo
-Roosevelt wanted military to strike Japanese home islands after America's pacific land had been taken
-Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led attack- did little damage
-Japan reacted by protecting their home islands more
Coral Sea
- Japan wanted to isolate Australia- one of America's allies
-Americans won and blocked imperialistic Japan
- learned that they could beat Japan's military
Total war- tactic
bomb everything
- no presicion accuracy
- didn't care about men, women, and children
sacrifice all resources and supplies to win a complete victory
- tactic used by allied powers
KamiKazi
Code of Bushido- loyal, valuing honor above life for the code of Samurai
- an aircraft loaded with explosives making a suicidal crash on enemy target
Blitzkrieg- tactic
attack and penetrate army line then surround enemy line
- Germany used this for swift wins
Strategies to chose from for ww2
- attack weakest point
- play defence
- or attack strongest point
Strategy used by Allies in European Theater- North Africa
- invade North Africa and move up Italy
- US decided to attack the weakest point because Germany had just taken over North Africa
- not taking on Germany's core
- did not first help soviet union bc hard to get troops there
- it was already hard for American soldiers to help bc U-boats surround America
Strategy used by Allies in deciding to bomb the concentration camps in European Theater
- Did not bomb the concentration camps because we thought it would slow down the war
- total war- use all materials
- also if we finish off our attacks using all of our supplies we can finish the Germans off quicker and easier
- to bomb or to not bomb?
Strategy used to attack Japan on Pacific Theater
- could have attacked Japan directly, played defence, or put a base in China, or attacked weakest point
- putting a base and attacking was to risky but America needed to do something
- took over weakest points; islands, and used theme for military bases
-leapfrogging/island hopping: travel and move up the islands until at core of Japan
- Okinawa, Philippines, Marshan Islands, ect..
D-Day
- July 6th, 1944
- operation overlord
Where: Normandy beach on coast of France- 63 mile coast, Western Front
by the first day allies had taken over whole beach
Significance: British and Americans soldiers were making a comeback into France taken over by Germany- America got to help, turning point for Allies- showing Germans they could fight back. Allied powers won- Germany surrendered
- first offensive battle
- stopped nazis from controlling
- largest military assaults in history required extensive planning
- high tide timing
- scale the walls at Point du Hoc
- many died before landfall
- attack MVP- Germany
Battle of Stalingrad
Where: Stalingrad - to the right of Ukraine, Eastern front
Significance:Stopped German advance into Soviet Union (stalingrad was part of soviet union), Soviet Union surround and crushed a German Army under command of General Friedrich Paulus Germans wanted to attack Caucasus from more angles but needed to conquest Stalingrad
Russia was determined to defend their city Forced Germany to retreat
Battle of the Bulge
Where: Ardennes Mountains region on Western Front, Belgium, France
Significance: Hitler tried to burst through weak allied lines in wooded Ardennes region of Belgium (counteroffensive on December 16, 1944) it created a bulge in American line. Allied air support & quick action stopped Germany causing them to withdraw by mid-january, last offensive of the Germans. Germans ended up losing because of the weather- could not advance because too muddy and rainy
Battle of Okinawa
Where: Allied invaded Island of Okinawa located off Coast of Japan, Pacific theater

Significance: Last Major Campaign of the US in the Pacific War. Bloodiest battle- lost 77,000 soldiers. After 82 days Allied powers won. Once Allies won- moved up to Hiroshima and Nagasaki- slowly worked way up, weakened Japan's outer defence and US slowly moved into the core causing them to eventually surrender
Battle of Midway
Where: Midway Island, pacific theater, east of Hawaii
Significance: US broke through the Japanese codes which told them Japanese next attack on the US- Midway island
win by the US allowed America to cause permanent damage in the Japanese Navy & allowed US and allies to move into a more offensive position
Battle of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Where: A city in Japan, Pacific theater
Significance: America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wiped out 90% of city of Hiroshima
sept. 2 , 1945 Japan surrendered bc they were surrounded by America
Bataan Death March
Where: Philippines - Bataan Peninsula, pacific theater

Significance: Japanese gathered around 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners and marched them 63 miles up to Bataan Peninsula to prison camp bc Japan was spreading and needed to move unnecessary people
This allowed Japan to take over most of the Pacific Islands because US and filipinos had surrendered
Battle of Iwo Jima
- Japanese soldiers rose out of the ground and surprised America

Where: Island controlled by Japan, pacific theater

Significance: The US used the island as a staging base for attacks on the Japanese mainland
Battle of Britain who
Britain vs. Germany
Battle of Britain what
air battle between the British Royal Air Force and the Germans Military Air Force. Nazi Germany launched a surprise airborne raid against British shipping convoy in English channel known as the opening thrust of the Battle of Britain. It was a fight for dominance over the skies of England
Battle of Britain where
Atlantic between Britain and Germany- Air battle, bombs were dropped in Britain and Germany
Battle of Britain why
Germany had occupied France and they were ready to expand into Britain. Hitler was a fascist believing that Aryan race were superior and Jews and "undesirables" should be banished or put to work. He had mostly occupied Europe and putting his plans into action and now it was time for Britain- the last Allied power in Europe
Battle of Britain how
This battle was all located in the air. German first attacked and Britain had far less fighters than Germany but they had a radar system so no sneak attacks could occur to Britain. Britain also had superior aircrafts but German single-engine fighters had limited flight radius and lacked bomb-load capacity to cause devastation in Britain. They fought by bombing and shooting at other planes in the air. Britain took out 600 German planes with a cost of only 260 British planes. Also Britain started to bomb main German cities such as Berlin - they were weakening the core of Germany and hoping the death of civilians would affect Germans air force to be affected. Then Germany started to bomb large cities.
Battle of Britain significance
Turning point of WW2- Battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe was not able to get air superiority of the British Royal Air Force even after bombing Britain's bases and posts. Since Germany was not able to beat their air force stopped Germany from invading the ground and showed that a war could be won only in the air. Also this gave confidence to the Allies that they could beat Germany.
Battle of Britain why you felt it was interesting
during one of the battles over London RAF Sergeant Ray Holmes noticed a German Dornier bomber going in the direction of Buckingham Palace. Since Holmes had already used up his ammunition he drove his plane straight into the German Bomber plane sending it into nearby Victoria Station. Holmes managed to save the royal residence and he is a national hero for doing so.
Battle of Britain wondering
Why didn't Germany get a high tech radar system and better airplanes after seeing Britain's superior tactics? Germany stayed with their bad planes but did they try to improve?
Attack on Pearl Harbor Basics
Where: Pearl Harbor, part of island in Hawaii, Pacific theater
What: Yamamoto led a surprise attack on United states Naval base.
Why: The US had all of their ships together. Saw planes coming towards them but thought they were B-19 US bombers. A US lady intercepted something about ship movements and positions in pearl harbor and she sent it to the superior but they said they would wait till monday- attack happened on sunday. Figured out the Japan might attack us but we were not prepared. Also for Japan it was a way to finalize there control over America's pacific islands.
Who: Japan attacked the US. Admiral Yamamoto planned attack- he was inspired by a book called Pacific War and when Britain's royal Air force attacked an Italian fleet and won.
When: Dec.7, 1941
How: Suprise attack because US's alert of declaration of war from Japan was delayed. Japanese had aircrafts, torpedo planes, level bombers, dive-bombers, fighters, cruisers, submarines, oilers, battleships, and destroyers.
FDR's speech after Pearl Harbor
- reassuring peace
- establishing sense of pride
- no clue what to do next although
- creating sense of propaganda- making Japan sound bad
- US country unity
- made everyone hate Japanese- made them feel like enemies
-created internment camps and called them "enemy aliens"
Bush's speech after 9/11
- establishing sense of pride
- reassuring peace
- he wanted Al qaeda to turn themselves in
- "help us take action"
- tried to calm propaganda- Muslims are not bad its radical muslims
- whole world unity
-Britain
-global perspective
-US was trying to seem strong
Concerns after pearl harbor and 9/11
Pearl Harbor biggest concerns following
-Japan was going to come back and fight military
-terrified
9/11 Attack biggest concerns following
-know there are still more people out there
-want to hurt civilians
How people felt after news of Pearl harbor
-scared
-angry at government for not seeing it coming
-US saw planes but thought it was US planes
-angry at Japanese in US
-"enemy aliens"
-internment camps
compare/contrast dictators
Mussolini
-fascist
-nationalist
-socialist
-imperialistic
Hitler
-fascist
-militarist
-nationalist
-totalitarian gov.
-socialist
-imperialistic
Tojo
-militarist
-nationalist
-imperialistic
Stalin
-communist
-totalitarian gov.
-nationalist - wanted russia to industrialize
Manhattan Project
- German American scientist Albert Einstein sent a letter to Roosevelt about how the energy from uranium could be used for powerful huge bombs- sent 1939
- atomic bomb- energy from splitting of nuclei of uranium or plutonium atoms
- 3 years later government created Manhattan project
- Top-secret program with many scientist whom had fled fascist nations in Europe worked to develop atomic weapons in World War Two.
What caused Manhattan Project?
-Started in Columbia university
-Manhattan was central - it had everything such as military units, piers for the import of precious ores
- top physicist who had fled Europe were located there
- many Germans came over and were very intelligent
Robert Oppenheimer
-was there during test explosion on July 16th, 1945 in Los Alamos known as Trinity Test
- described it as blinding flash of light, intense heat, and violent shock waves from bomb
- blast reminded him of a line from Hindu scripture "I am become Death, the destroyer of the worlds."
- he was a scientist involved
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Two main cities in Japan that US dropped atomic bombs on which later caused Japanese to surrender
- August 6, 1945 - atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
- 80,000 people died instantly
- crushed around 60,000 structures
- unexpected - no air raid symbol on
- fire consumed city
- August 9, 1945 US dropped 2nd bomb on Nagaski
- killing 40,000 people instantly
- around 250,000 Japanese were killed in total
Enola Gay
- on august 6, 1945 dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
- dropped bomb called "little boy"
- B-29 airplane
V-J Day
- means victory over Japan
- destruction of Nagasaki caused them to surrender
- August 15th, 1945
- terms of surrender allowed emperor to keep office but only in ceremonial role (name only)
Debate INFO
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Battle of Britain when
July 10, 1940 - October 31, 1940
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